Dahling, where is the pool boy?

Tuesday, November 11, 2009
Crantini

Tuesday, November 11, 2009
Colony Club Martini

Yes, you read correctly, this was a two-for-one evening. I knew I was going out on Wednesday evening so I figured I’d better try to get caught up a little. The Crantini is very similar to a Cosmopolitan, a drink which always makes me think of Sex and the City, even though I never watched the series when it was on, or maybe caught it once a year. And never really got into it, to be honest. Carrie always seemed too whiny, Miranda was too butch looking for me to believe she was in a heterosexual relationship, Samantha was too much of a slut, and … Charlotte? That’s the other one, right? Too ditzy and simple-minded. I could never really see myself relating to any of them. I liked all the shoes but really couldn’t walk in any of them anyway, so I didn’t get into that fantasy. I wouldn’t mind the career of a writer, though. A successful one, at any rate.

Back to the beverages at hand. The Crantini is 6 parts gin, 1 part unsweetened cranberry juice, lime or lemon twist. Who on earth BUYS unsweetened cranberry juice? And why? Ugh. To me cranberry juice is good for urinary tract infections and that’s about it, and even then, I take a supplement rather than drink the juice. But I’d certainly be down with the rationale that I’m drinking Cosmos to ward off a UTI. Sort of like gin and tonics to prevent malaria and all, old chap. I wasn’t about to buy unsweetened cranberry juice, though, because I had no idea what I’d do with the rest of it unless it was good for degreasing my engine or something. Fortunately I have some white cranberry juice in the fridge, so I used that. I have another martini recipe for a blueberry martini that uses white cranberry juice, tonic water, and blueberry vodka, with a skewer of fresh blueberries for garnish, that is very light and refreshing – look than one up on the Stoli Bluberi site, I think that’s where I found it. So I made the Crantini with that and a lemon twist.

Tasty- not quite as sweet as a Cosmo, and I suspect would naturally have been less sweet still if I’d used the correct juice. But this was just about right for me, to be honest. I usually only drink one Cosmo, they are a bit too fruity-sweet for my taste, unless they’re being served up by Johnny Depp disguised as my pool boy. Not that I have a pool (just a hot tub), but if I did, I wouldn’t mind being waited on and consuming multiple Cosmopolitans if it garnered me his favor. And I think I’d ask for this variety instead, the Crantini. A solid 4 stars in my rating.

Lovey, dearest, can you mix us up a batch of Colony Club Martinis?

After this, I decided to sample the Colony Club Martini, which by its very name sounds like something that Thurston and Lovey should have been drinking about the ill-fated Minnow. 6 parts gin, 1 teaspoon Pernod, 3-5 dashes orange bitters, and an orange twist. I have blood orange bitters, used about 3 dashes worth (decided to use about 2/3rds of a 1/4 tsp measuring spoon as a “dash”, so I used three of those), and the teaspoon of Pernod. I Since I’d already had a gin drink, this was a good second choice, I generally don’t like to mix vodka and gin-based martinis in the same evening.

This was … okay. Not bad. Not great. I think it’s just the Pernod I have the issue with. I’m not a fan of licorice or the taste thereof, and, well, that’s what Pernod is. Maybe if I used a little less. It was a good, sippable drink, once I got over that initial kind of shudder reaction I have to the Pernod. I tend to have the same reaction to cilantro, unfortunately, but that one I never do get used to. This had a nice summertime or perhaps early fall feel to it, a light drink. I’d give it 3.5 stars. It would probably rank higher for someone who liked licorice, though.